Curry drops 51 on Wizards

WASHINGTON – Following one of his worst offensive games this season, reigning NBA MVP Stephen Curry stopped thinking about basketball and recalibrated his mind. It worked out just fine.

Curry was all systems go Wednesday night as he made 11 3-pointers and scored 51 points to lead the Golden State Warriors past the Washington Wizards 134-121 for their eighth straight victory, which came in spite of a monster performance from John Wall.

Wall scored a season-best 41 points in the shadows as Curry shot 13 of 14 for 36 points in the best first half of his career. After scoring just 13 points Sunday at New York, Curry was in a zone, tying Gilbert Arenas and Michael Jordan for the Verizon Center record and reaching 50 for the second time this season.

“The shots that you know feel good go in, and some of the shots that you’re like, ‘Oh that’s off,’ they end up going in,” Curry said. “It’s a fun feeling, and you want to ride that until you can’t anymore.”

Curry looked human when he missed seven of 10 shots during the third quarter but was dominant most of the night as the Warriors (45-4) matched the 1966-67 Philadelphia 76ers for the best 49-game start in NBA history.

“It’s like Kobe (Bryant) when he had 81,” Wall said. “He couldn’t miss. You keep defending the best way you can. We challenged some shots. He didn’t have too many open looks. He just made them.”

Curry’s 5-of-17 shooting performance against the Knicks was all forgotten by the end of this game. Not like coach Steve Kerr was worried.

“I didn’t know Steph was in a slump,” Kerr said. “Steph’s never in a slump.”

Thunder 117, Magic 114

In Oklahoma City, Russell Westbrook posted his third straight triple-double with 24 points, a career-high 19 rebounds and 14 assists as the Thunder held off Orlando.

Victor Oladipo scored 37 points for the Magic.

Spurs 110, Pelicans 97

In San Antonio, LaMarcus Aldridge scored 36 points and San Antonio improved to 27-0 at home this season by beating New Orleans.